Amador County – Howard Properties has put the brakes on its 107-acre project application in Ione Business Park, asking the city for a partnership on environmental costs. Howard Properties Resource Manager Tim K. Smith told of the decision in an April 14th letter to city staff, and Ione City Council members. TSPN received a copy of the letter from City Manager Kim Kerr. Smith in the letter said: “As of today we are discontinuing the Howard Business Park project and site development application within the Ione Industrial Park complex which was recently submitted to your office.” Smith said Howard Properties project proponents “do not feel it is a feasible project for them under the cost estimates and permitting constraints put on the project by your staff.” He said the city is unwilling to share in the cost of the project, which began as a “Tentative Map,” then was required by city’s staff to be a “Specific Plan,” with all work required to be done by city staff. He said a scope-of-work and cost document from the city had an “open-ended cost estimate for the tree permit and Specific Plan environmental documents” which “was roughly 500 percent of the not-to-exceed cost to do the actual studies and technical data collection and negotiations for the project by our private consultants.” Smith said “to date, the proponents requests for strategy accommodations and cost controls have been largely ignored by the city.” He said “as a huge beneficiary of the project, the city is unwilling to act as a partner in the process but is set up to function as a paid third party overseer.” Smith said: “The Specific Plan is a city project which staff is currently unwilling to participate in as a financial or in-kind partner.” He said: “Without a competitive influence on the EIR work, there is no way for the proponent to be in control of their own project,” and in the last year-and-a-half, “the project has morphed into something way beyond the initial vision of a combined park in an already appropriately zoned parcel which was annexed by the city for the very purpose which is the proponent’s intent.” Howard Properties informed its “consultants to discontinue work on the project and to archive work done to date in case the city of Ione would be willing to accommodate the proponents concerns at some time down the road.” Ione Councilman David Plank said he had received the letter and would make comments on the issue in public at the meeting today. City Manager Kim Kerr is planning to talk about the letter today during a discussion of written correspondence. Ione City Council meets at 6 p.m. today. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.-
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Amador County – Howard Properties has put the brakes on its 107-acre project application in Ione Business Park, asking the city for a partnership on environmental costs. Howard Properties Resource Manager Tim K. Smith told of the decision in an April 14th letter to city staff, and Ione City Council members. TSPN received a copy of the letter from City Manager Kim Kerr. Smith in the letter said: “As of today we are discontinuing the Howard Business Park project and site development application within the Ione Industrial Park complex which was recently submitted to your office.” Smith said Howard Properties project proponents “do not feel it is a feasible project for them under the cost estimates and permitting constraints put on the project by your staff.” He said the city is unwilling to share in the cost of the project, which began as a “Tentative Map,” then was required by city’s staff to be a “Specific Plan,” with all work required to be done by city staff. He said a scope-of-work and cost document from the city had an “open-ended cost estimate for the tree permit and Specific Plan environmental documents” which “was roughly 500 percent of the not-to-exceed cost to do the actual studies and technical data collection and negotiations for the project by our private consultants.” Smith said “to date, the proponents requests for strategy accommodations and cost controls have been largely ignored by the city.” He said “as a huge beneficiary of the project, the city is unwilling to act as a partner in the process but is set up to function as a paid third party overseer.” Smith said: “The Specific Plan is a city project which staff is currently unwilling to participate in as a financial or in-kind partner.” He said: “Without a competitive influence on the EIR work, there is no way for the proponent to be in control of their own project,” and in the last year-and-a-half, “the project has morphed into something way beyond the initial vision of a combined park in an already appropriately zoned parcel which was annexed by the city for the very purpose which is the proponent’s intent.” Howard Properties informed its “consultants to discontinue work on the project and to archive work done to date in case the city of Ione would be willing to accommodate the proponents concerns at some time down the road.” Ione Councilman David Plank said he had received the letter and would make comments on the issue in public at the meeting today. City Manager Kim Kerr is planning to talk about the letter today during a discussion of written correspondence. Ione City Council meets at 6 p.m. today. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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